1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable communication apparatuses, such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), hand held phones (HHPs), camera phones, game phones, and digital communication apparatuses, and more particularly to a portable digital communication apparatus which is opened or closed through double swing operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
A “portable communication apparatus” refers to an electronic apparatus which a user can carry to perform wireless communication with a desired partner. In consideration of portability, designs of such portable communication apparatuses are geared not only toward compactness, slimness, and lightness, but also toward multimedia availability. In particular, future portable communication apparatuses are expected to incorporate greater multi-functionality and multi-purpose utilization, as well as greater compactness and lightness, but also will likely be modified to be suitable for various multimedia environments or Internet environments. Additionally, such portable communication apparatuses are now commonly used by all kinds of people, including men and women, and the young and the old, throughout the world, and are recognized by some people as a nearly indispensable commodity which must always be carried.
Conventional portable communication apparatuses are classified as various types according to their appearance, such as bar-type portable communication apparatuses, flip-type portable communication apparatuses, and folder-type portable communication apparatuses. The bar-type portable communication apparatus has a single housing shaped like a bar. The flip-type portable communication apparatus has a flip which is pivotably mounted to a bar-shaped housing by a hinge unit. The folder-type portable communication apparatus has a folder coupled to a single bar-shaped housing by a hinge unit in such a manner that the folder can be rotated in order to be folded to or unfolded from the housing.
Further, portable communication apparatuses are classified as neck communication apparatuses according to the position at or the way in which a user puts on the communication apparatus. The neck wearable type communication apparatus is one which a user wears around their neck using a string, while the wrist wearable type communication apparatus is one which a user wears around their wrist.
Additionally, portable communication apparatuses are classified as rotation-type communication apparatuses and sliding-type communication apparatuses according to ways of opening and closing the communication apparatuses. In the rotation-type portable communication apparatus, two housings are coupled to each other in such a manner that one housing rotates to be opened or closed relative to the other while they face each other. In the sliding-type portable communication apparatus, two housings are coupled to each other in a manner that one housing slides in order to be opened or closed relative to the other housing. The different types of portable communication apparatuses can be easily understood by those skilled in the art.
Meanwhile, conventional portable communication apparatuses now tend to have a function of transmitting data at a high speed in addition to performing the basic function of performing voice communication. In other words, according to the increase of demand by consumers, portable communication apparatuses now tend to provide a service using a wireless communication technology capable of transmitting data at a high speed.
Recently portable communication apparatuses now tend to be equipped with a camera lens which enables each of the communication apparatuses to transmit an image signal. That is, current conventional portable communication apparatuses may have an imbedded or external camera lens or a photographing means which enables a user to communicate images with a desired partner or to take a photograph of a desired subject.
Hereinafter, from among the various conventional portable communication apparatuses, a conventional swing-type portable digital communication terminal will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional swing-type portable digital communication terminal includes a first housing 410 and a second housing 420 rotatably assembled with each other through a hinge module (not shown). The second housing 420 is opened from or closed onto the first housing 410 through swing operation. The first housing 410 and the second housing 420 are kept in contact with each other and swing around a hinge axis A within a range of about 180°.
The first housing 410 has a first key array 411 and a microphone unit 412 adjacently disposed on a surface of the first housing 410. The first key array 411 includes a plurality of keys orderly arranged in a group. The second housing 420 has a speaker unit 421, a display unit 422, and a second key array 423, which are adjacently disposed in sequence on a surface of the second housing 420. The second key array 423 includes a plurality of keys orderly arranged in a group.
When the second housing 420 has completely swung 180° from the first housing 410 as shown in FIG. 2, it is somewhat inconvenient or troublesome for a user to confirm data displayed on the display unit 422. That is, a user must tilt the entire body of the portable communication apparatuses at a desired angle in order to look at the data displayed on the display unit 422.